John Larroquette Movies

Crime doesn't take a holiday on Christmas Eve, and detectives Kojak (Telly Savalas) and Stavros (Demosthenes) have plenty to keep them busy. For starters, there's a gun-wielding man on the loose, determined to kill his cheating wife--and anyone else who gets in his way. At the same time, Stavros tries to help a young girl search for her boyfriend, who is likewise heavily armed and very dangerous. Keep an eye out for two future stars, John Larroquette and Edward James Olmos), in very minor roles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Who better than former stuntman Hal Needham to direct the made-for-TV Stunts Unlimited? Glenn Corbett stars as former CIA agent Dirk Macauley, who enlists three movie stunt experts as an elite counter-espionage team. Macauley's "angels"-two male, one female-are Bo Carlson (Sam Jones), Matt Lewis (Chip Mayer) and C.C. Brandt (Susan Dalton-and do you want to bet that Macauley originally thought that "C.C." was a guy?) Their first assignment: retrieve a deadly laser weapon, stolen by special guest villain Alejandro Ray. While this 2-hour TV pilot didn't sell, the similarly themed The Fall Guy did. Stunts Unlimited debuted January 4, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this 1980 sci-fi horror film, William Hurt plays Eddie Jessup, a scientist obsessed with discovering mankind's true role in the universe. To this end, he submits himself to a series of mind-expanding experiments. By enclosing himself in a sensory-deprivation chamber and taking hallucinogenic drugs, Jessup hopes to explore different levels of human consciousness, but instead is devolved into an apelike monster. Director Ken Russell helmed Altered States from a script by Paddy Chayefsky, who adapted his own novel of the same name. Unhappy with the finished product, Chayefsky had his name replaced with his pseudonym Sydney Aaron. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Bill Murray decides to be all that he can be -- and it ain't pretty -- in this hit comedy. John Winger (Murray) is a quick-witted but unambitious loser who comes home after getting fired to discover that his car has been repossessed and his girlfriend is leaving him. With no idea of what to do next, John and his best friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) impulsively join the Army, more as a practical joke than a career goal. John and Russell find themselves in basic training under the hard-nosed and impatient Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates), who is stuck with an outfit of goofballs, including overweight Ox (John Candy), naive Cruiser (John Deihl), perpetually stoned Elmo (Judge Reinhold), and the appropriately-nicknamed Psycho (Conrad Dunn). The platoon succeeds in impressing the generals spite of themselves, and John and Russell even find time to romance two pretty female MPs, Stella (P.J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young). However, when John and Russell commandeer a high-tech military vehicle for a European weekend getaway with the girls, they happen into Soviet territory and stumble into an international incident. Remarkably, Stripes was made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army, despite its less-than-rosy view of the all-volunteer armed forces. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this loose adaptation of the 1942 horror classic of the same name, a 2001-style opening montage establishes some sort of sacrificial, mystical union between panthers and an ancient tribe of humans. Flash forward to 1980's New Orleans, where waifish Irina (Natassja Kinski) meets her older brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell), a minister, for the first time since their animal trainer parents died and she was sent to a series of foster homes. Paul's Creole housekeeper, Female (Ruby Dee), helps Irina settle into her brother's home, but Paul himself disappears. Cut to a fleabag motel where a blasé prostitute finds an angry panther instead of a client; after mauling her, the cat is captured by police and a team of zoologists: Oliver (John Heard), Alice (Annette O'Toole), and Joe (Ed Begley Jr.). The next day Irina finds herself in the zoo where these scientists work; drawn to the newly captured panther, she befriends Oliver and takes a job in the gift shop. Shortly after the panther's violence turns deadly, it escapes, and soon Paul turns up spouting an unbelievable story about his family's were-cat heritage and his inevitable sexual union with little Irina. On the run from her dangerous brother, Irina takes refuge in a sexually frustrated romance with Oliver, afraid of what might happen if she consummates their passion. Astute viewers will notice that the zoologist characters refer to the film's panthers as leopards; "panther" is actually a generic term for any large cat, especially a black one, but Cat People's panthers are in fact leopards whose black color comes from a recessive trait known as melanism. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

In this martial arts movie, an American art dealer, who doubles as a Ninja, must use his fighting skill, to save a group of scientists being held hostage by terrorists in Dallas. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

There have been almost enough Meatballs to make a plate of spaghetti, but this entry about a decisive boxing match between two youth camps is basically inedible without Bill Murray to add the necessary zest, as he did in the original Meatballs. "The Flash" (John Mengatti) is out on probation but has to serve time at Camp Sasquatch as a counselor-in-training (!) as a part of the probation terms. There, he meets the super-innocent Cheryl (Kim Richards), adding interest to his job, but none of the characters in Camp Sasquatch or its rival Camp Patton add much interest to the film. Hershey (Hamilton Camp) is the one-dimensional fascist who runs the militaristic Camp Patton and sure enough, his aide-de-camp is a closet gay (John Larroquette). (Paul Reubens) of Pee Wee Herman fame is a minor player, Richard Mulligan is Giddy (an apt name for his character) and when these oddballs are combined with a strange- looking alien and the final boxing match that will save Camp Sasquatch if only The Flash can win, the pastiche is somewhat hard to digest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Cheeky, insouciant Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) is back behind the bench as Night Court begins its second season. Also still on hand from season one are taciturn bailiff Bull (Richard Moll), acerbic court matron Selma (Selma Diamond), and libidinous Assistant DA Dan Fielding (John Larroquette). Missing from the scene is Harry's friendly adversary, legal-aid attorney Liz Williams (Paula Kelly), who has been replaced by Billie Young (Ellen Foley). Interestingly enough, the character who would in season three replace Billie, novice public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), also makes her initial appearance during this season. Also, court clerk Lana Wagner (Karen Austin), who spent the first several episodes nursing a crush on Judge Stone, has been succeeded by a new clerk, Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson), who (need it be said?) does not feel toward Stone the same way that Lana did. Proof that Mac prefers to play it "straight" occurs in the episode "Take My Wife, Please," in which he weds Quon Lee (Denice Kumagai), a woman he'd met while serving in Vietnam. The final episode of season two, "Walk, Don't Wheel," also marks the farewell appearance of Night Court regular Selma Diamond, who died during the series' summer hiatus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Introduced to NBC's Wednesday-night schedule as a mid-season replacement on January 4, 1984, the weekly 30-minute sitcom Night Court quickly built a large and appreciative audience, enabling the series to remain on the network for nine seasons. Harry Anderson, a comedian who had established his reputation as a smooth-talking, nimble-fingered street magician and self-styled con artist, was perfectly cast as affable, irreverent Manhattan night-court judge Harry T. Stone. Although he came across as an iconoclastic jokester who held standard legal procedure in contempt (in one episode, his verdict was based on the flip of a coin), Harry was a highly successful jurist with a well-honed sense of fair play, whose handling of the oddballs that paraded in and out of his court resulted in a gratifyingly low "return" rate and quite a few reformations. Even those who'd never stood before Judge Stone in court were familiar with his lovable eccentricities, including his fondness for faded blue jeans and his adoration of singer Mel Tormé. The supporting cast included John Larroquette as Assistant DA Dan Fielding, who spent as much time trying to score with the ladies in night court as he did trying to secure convictions, and Richard Moll as bald-headed bailiff "Bull" Shannon (Richard Moll), whose bark was worse than his bite, but not by much.

During the series' first season, Paula Kelly was seen as legal-aid defense lawyer Liz Williams, who was alternately appalled and fascinated by Harry's unorthodox tactics; Karen Austin also appeared as court clerk Lana Wagner, who harbored a not-so-secret crush on Harry. In subsequent seasons, Liz was replaced by Billie Young (Ellen Foley), who in turn was replaced by Christine Sullivan (Markie Post); as for Lana, her replacement was Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson). Both Christine and Mac remained for the rest of the series; not so with Selma Diamond as abrasive jail matron Selma Hacker, a character who lasted only until Diamond's death. The actress' replacement, Florence Halop as Florence Kleiner, likewise passed away after only a short time on the series; she in turn was replaced by Marsha Warfield as Roz Russell, a character who stayed in place until the series' own demise. The on-again, off-again romance between Harry Stone and Christine Sullivan was definitely "off" during seasons seven and eight, when Christine was wed to undercover cop Tony Guillano (Ray Abruzzo), a union which produced a baby. After Christine divorced Tony, her relationship with Harry heated up considerably, but before long the ardor had cooled. Eventually, Christine was elected to congress, whereupon she was pursued not by Harry but by the ever-libidinous Dan Fielding. The final episode of Night Court, which set something of a record for the number of bizarre, surrealistic incidents occurring within a single half-hour, was broadcast on July 1, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season three of Night Court finds at least four of the series' regulars still in residence: Harry Anderson as flippant night-court judge Harry T. Stone, Richard Moll as bald, saturnine bailiff Bull, Charles Robinson as super-efficient court clerk Mac Robinson, and John Larroquette as lecherous Assistant DA Dan Fielding. Conspicuous by her absence is Selma Diamond as court matron Selma Hacker; the actress had died during the summer of 1985, a tragedy that is deftly and tastefully written into the script of the season opener "Hello, Goodbye." Ironically, Selma Diamond's replacement, Florence Halop as Florence Kleiner, would herself pass away in July of 1986. Also gone from the series is Ellen Foley as public defender Billie Young. Lawyer Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), a character introduced during season two, succeeds Billie, and would remain with Night Court until its cancellation in 1992. The series' third season introduces two other recurring characters: Bumper Robinson as Leon, a runaway orphan who all but pitches camp in Judge Stone's court, and William Utay as Phil, an enigmatic derelict who later turns out to be a millionaire -- and who puts Dan in charge of a seemingly above-reproach charitable foundation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After several turnovers during the past three seasons, the main cast of the NBC sitcom Night Court finally achieves a degree of stability during season four. The lineup, which would remain intact until the series' final episode six years later, includes Harry Anderson as cheerfully irreverent night-court judge Harry T. Stone, Markie Post as Harry's frequent adversary and occasional girlfriend Christine Sullivan, Richard Moll as towering, egg-bald bailiff Bull (who undergoes a serious operation this season); John Larroquette as sex-obsessed Assistant DA Dan Fielding, and Charles Robinson as quietly efficient court clerk Mac. New to the series is Marsha Warfield as court matron Roz Russell, replacing the late Florence Halop (who played Florence Kleiner) -- who had previously replaced the late Selma Diamond (who played Selma Hacker). Warfield would break the "jinx" on her character and remain with the series until it ran its course. Season four yields one additional recurring character: Mike Finnerman as Art Finsterman, the courtroom's off-kilter maintenance man. In addition, Judge Harry T. Stone's idol Mel Tormé makes a guest appearance in the episode "Christine's Friend," while none other than NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff shows up in "A Day in the Life." The season ends with "Her Honor," a two-part episode that was supposed to have been the pilot for a spin-off series starring Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as the Wheelers, a rube couple from the hills of West Virginia. While the series didn't sell, Brent Spiner went on to a somewhat more fulfilling assignment on Star Trek: The Next Generation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a true story, this made-for-television drama chronicles a woman's fight for justice within the legal system. John Larroquette (Night Court) stars as Douglas Forbes, a husband who is wrongly accused of being a serial rapist. Targeted by a prosecutor who is determined to put someone behind bars for the crimes, Douglas goes on trial, is convicted, and sent to jail. Refusing to give up on her husband, Douglas' determined wife Martha (Lindsay Wagner), will not rest until her husband's name is cleared of the erroneous charges and he is freed from jail. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi